captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- christians around the world's celebrated easter today, from vatican city to moscow to right here to washington, d.c., with the sex-abuse scandal not too far away. st. peter's square in rome on monday. a noticeable brea from church ritual. an address, directly to pe benedict, defending the holy father. the dean of the college of

cardinals told the pope they would not let themselves be influenced by the moment. the faithful and cheered, even as new revelations emerged about the abuse in the past. in moscow, there was tightened security at the largest orthodox church and theake of two terrorist bombings on the moscow subway. president obama and his family attended services at a historically black church, the allen chapel ame church, where they talked about patriotism and love of country. let these men and women at the fort operating baselining in afghanistan, taking in a sunrise service. back home, in u.s. tradition, at the stadium, where pastor rick warren preached to thousands. >> we live on a broken planet.

nothing works correctly on this planet. nothing works perfectly. >> but even on a troubled planet, one eastern tradition still brings a smile, the easter parade down york's fifth avenue. in an editorial in today's "the washington post," it was said that the pope has long protected children. and now, let's talk politics. joining us is a senior political reporter for the politico. >> i appreciate it. >> let's start with the rnc. a really tough week. talk about the scandal. >> sure. rnc chairman michael steele has already had a tough year since he took over the party. it was worse after it was said that they snt thousands of dollars at basically a sex club in hollywood.

the problem is this is part of a pattern of spending at the rnc that is taking place that is not helpful to the cause of the party at a time when the gop seems to be at the as sent. there is a nagging question about michael steele and about the are in sea. this is probably the most embarrassing blow yet -- about michael steele and about the rnc. >> is this the and for michael steele? >> i do not think his job -- is this the end for michael steele? >> i do not think his job is in jeopardy. further, and this is important, it is march of an election year. they are not going to push out their chairman. >> you think this could affect the midterm elections at this point? >> if they do not have the money

to invest in house and senate races this fall, that could be a fact, and our donors turned off enough by the rnc to not write checks? that could hurt them. >> we did see one conservative group telling donors not to donate. we will be watching. obama. he was optimistic this week. there was a good jobs report. unemployment hovering around 9%. do you see him focusing more on jobs now and health-care i over? >> yes. -- now that health care is over? >> yes. what are you doing about that central issue? i think that will be the chief focus from now until the election. turning around the economy, i am not sure there is much they can do in the short term.

jobs are actually added. -- were actually added. it is not a good thing, obviously, but we are adding jobs and not shedding them is probably good news for the party in power. >> thank you for joining us. american university will now hold a discussion about a controversial column about date rape. in the article, he wrote -- the columns stirred up controversy on and off campus. -- the column. >> that is what i do. >> he is a self-prescribed personal ones to be a political commentator. they plan on issue an apology --

he is a self-prescribed person who wants to be a political commentator. tomorrow, the california medical board will ask a judge to bar dr. conrad murray from seeing patients in california. the doctor has not seen patients since the death of michael jackson. he pled not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the pop star. he is accused of giving jackson as a powerful sedative, which some say ended up killing the singer -- he is accused of giving jackson a powerful sedative. there is a hearing coming up for some suspects in a case. a group of men broke into the miami home of the ballplayer. and all eyes will be on

tiger woods after he returns to golf after four months of controversy. he will return it to the masters in augusta, georgia. an accident led to the discovery of an extramarital affairs. he went to rehab and then announced his decision to play in the masters. the tournament begins on thursday. more than 175 era men and women with the d.c. national guard will be coming home -- more than 175 airmen and woemn. -- and women. the cherry blossom festival continues this week with temperatures in the 80's of the weekend. the tidal basin was this place to be. there were thousands of tourists along with some locals who ventured into d.c. to enjoy the weather. >> they are just as little bit

past peak. we came down here in friday -- on friday in traffic and got to see them in full bloom. they are still absolutely gorgeous. >> saturday is the cherry blossom parade from 10:00 a.m. until noon, and a parade will be in northwest. wjla is proud to be a sponsor of the festival. for more information, go to our website and enter the key word "cherry blossoms." and women often do not know what is really wrong, and sometimes, need to do their doctors. and the nationals will soon be taking the field. what is new at the ballpark, and why should you plan on getting there early? if you are heading to the game, get ready. get ready for the heat and

with pride i filled out my census for me and my husband. we're helping jack improve our roads. watch that back. yes miss maybelle officer bill fight crime. fix your tie. yes miss maybelle. and principal ella get more classrooms. aim high. yes miss maybelle. the census helps decide how over $400 billion dollars will be spent each year on education and healthcare. fill out your census. we can't move forward until you mail it back. yes miss maybelle! to learn more go to 2010 census.gov

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the crew of the space shuttle discovery. they are scheduled to launch tomorrow from the kennedy space center. they will carry equipment for the international space station. it is set for 6:27 tomorrow moin some changes at the ballpark this year. on the food front, cupcakes will

now be offered, as well as some healthier food options. the restaurant has undergone a face-lift, and you can now buy food and sit on the porch and watch the game. >> we have different times throughout the game where you can enjoy the game. >> there is a shuttle that has been cancelled and two new lot open to. and if you are going to tomorrows -- two new lots open ed. and for more information, go to wjla.com. after opening day, you will still get plenty of chances to catch t nationals at home. there are two more games on wednesday and thursday, and they take on the mets onriday and saturday. you can catch the capitals at home tomorrow against the bruins, and then they go to

pittsburgh and come home on friday. and the wizards fans, they are home tuesday and saturday this week. coming up on "washington weekly," another bus driver is arrested. wait until you hear what he was doing while on duty.

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here is a look at some of our top stories.

a metro bus driver is accused of soliciting a prostitute while on duty. the woman turned out to be an undercover mpd officer. metro officials will not say whether or not and there was anybody on board at the time. -- whether or not anybody was on board at that time. investigators say one man was on his way to help fellow officers when he lost control, and officer's name is not being released, the officer died. the philadelphia eagles traded donovan mcnabb to the redskins. he is a six-time pro bowler, the lead the eagles to five championships and won super bowl. -- who led the eagles to five championships and one sip or bowl. -- and one super bowl.

the cherry blossoms, another couple of days. the wind and not a factor at all. at least not until wednesday -- the wind not a factor at all. 56 degrees currently in leesburg after a high of 77, no rain to speak of. at delphi in prince george's county looking at 58, and our high this afternoon was 77 at reagan national, the morning low of 54. it was still above average for this time of european your allergies bothering you? this could be the reason -- it was above average for the this time of year. your allergies bothering you? it could be the tree pollen. elkins, west virginia, temperatures in the upper 40's. we do have a frontal system.

parts of iowa, missouri, lower michigan, northern indiana, this is going to remain to the north. the weather associated with it as well away from us. temperatures only in the middle 70's, but by this moving off, look for temperatures to soar, especially on tuesday and wednesday. they will probably break some records. 84 degrees on wednesday. i have a feeling we will hit the middle to upper 80's to near 90 degrees. mostly clear out to the west of us. another mild day tomorrow. a few scattered showers will to the north korea western pennsylvania, ohio, the panhandle of maryland -- well to the north be a western pennsylvania, ohio, the panhandle of maryland.

we do well to the north. western pennsylvania, ohio. we do well to the north -- well to the north. tuesday into wednesday, we are going to look for temperatures that will remain above average. that is at least until the cold front arrives. temperatures in the upper 70's. >> get that sunscreen out. amazing. >> a lot of people walking around with burnt foreheads. >> thanks a lot, steve. coming up, seven

7 is on your side tonight with a medical alert. women have a chance of 1/8 of developing a thyroid disorder in their lives, but it often goes undiagnosed, and tests are controversial. >> when she started dating a lot of weight, she got concerned -- when she started gaining a lot of weight. >> i was trying to eatealthy and exercise, but i just did not have the energy to do it. >> per doctor used conventional tests to check her thyroid levels, but they came back to normal -- her doctor. but linda continued to gain

weight, she visited another doctor. in additional to a regular test which measures tr and the thyroid stimulating hormone, they also checked the level of another hormone, t3 -- which measures t4 and the thyroid stimulating hormone. her energy has improved. she feels better, and she has lost weight. >> i have lost 50 pounds. >> but many endocrinologist say hypo thyroid patients only need one type. they say. medicationst3 -- they 3 -- t3 vacations have been linked to heart attacks. -- t3 medications have been linked to heart attacks.

this doctor says her patients, which have included t3 in their regimen, have been seeing a big improvement. mary is among them. >> i had more energy and felt i had a clear head. >> i had no issues with it and got well enough that i was able to comple my first triathlon. >> the patients we spoke to had no issues with the t3 medication, but the doctors said is administered incorrectly and without clo monitoring, it could be help -- harmful. coming up, steve rudin is back with a final check of the forecast. here's what you should be watching: your cable bill, because you could be paying way too much. stop spending more for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone,

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in just a few hours from now, children will be at the annual easter egg roll, posted by the president and the first lady. -- hosted by the president and the fourth lady. this year's special guests include j.k. rowling -- the president and the first lady. >> a very popular tickets. we have a nice day tomorrow for the egg hunt -- >> a very

popular tickets. for the egg hunt -- >> a very popular tickets. >